The Very Hungry Skeith
by Emminou
Summary: "The problem was, she was a very hungry skeith..." Lily couldn't help herself. She'd eat anything, no matter what the consequences were. And, as Lily was about to learn, sometimes a meal just isn't worth taking risks for.
1. The Very Angry Owner

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The Very Hungry Skeith

(part one: The Very Angry Owner)

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by Emminou

"What do you mean you _ate_ it?"

The plump blue skeith silently inspected her claws. Her owner continued to rage, stamping angrily about the cramped kitchen of their neohome.

"I mean, that was a genuine faerie paintbrush- cost me over one hundred _thousand_ neopoints, I'd been saving for months-"

Lily knew. With a shudder, she remembered the time - not all that long ago - when she'd often gone days without eating.

"-and what do you do? You go and... and... and _eat_ it the moment my back is turned! What do you have to say for yourself, eh? Eh?"

A glance at Sandra's bright red face told Lily it would _not_ be a good idea to mention the "100%-Fake-Faerie-Paint-Brush-Made-On-Mystery-Island" label she'd found on the back of the brush. Instead, she said the next thing that came to her mind: "It would've tasted better with sauce."

***

Lily lay awake at night, gingerly nursing the bruise where Sandra had thrown a frying pan at her tail. Her stomach gurgled, and Lily's mind again turned to food, and to her fight with Sandra that afternoon. The problem was, she was a _very_ hungry skeith. Sandra just didn't understand her needs.

Lily's stomach rumbled again. "I'm sta-a-a-a-a-arving," she moaned. As quietly as she could, she jumped off her bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

She didn't turn on the light - Sandra's bedroom was across the corridor, and waking her would only serve to make her angrier- but instead went straight to their fridge, gleaming in the moonlight. She opened it, and gasped-

It was empty. Well, almost empty. A sheet of paper had taken the place of her's favourite snack: asparagus spears. Lily reached for the paper. Unable to believe her eyes, she read what Sandra had written:

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Lily-

After you ate my faerie paintbrush, I figured you wouldn't need to eat again for a few days, at least, so I moved the food - all of it - to the Safety Deposit Box. And no, I won't be telling you the combination.

-Sandra

"Fine then," Lily growled. Angrily, she rolled the note into a tiny ball and ate it.

***

A delicious smell woke her the next morning. Her stomach grumbling furiously - one piece of paper does not make a good snack for a skeith who's used to better things - she raced down the stairs.

Sandra was in the kitchen, cooking faerie cakes. Hopefully, Lily took her usual seat at the kitchen table. Sandra said nothing.

Lily wriggled in her chair uncomfortably. Surely Sandra wasn't _still_ angry? Clearing her throat, she tried to begin a conversation. "Say, Sandra, those smell really good-"

"Forget it," her owner snapped. "Haven't you had your fill of faerie food yet?"

Lily, vivd purple with embarrassment, didn't reply. Fighting back tears, she stared out the kitchen window, and tried to ignore Sandra, who had joined her at the table and was pouring maple syrup over her faerie cakes.

"Mmm..." Sandra murmured. "Even if I say it myself, these are really good faerie cakes."

That did it! Stifling a sob, Lily fled to her room.

Sandra's voice followed her. "I expect they taste a lot better than paintbrushes!"

***

Lily threw her last Tombola booby prize into her orange backpack. She already had three other bags, piled neatly on her bed, that were filled to overflowing with things she couldn't leave behind. She looked around her room with a strong sense of satisfaction. There was nothing else she'd need to take with her. 

Her walls were stripped, the posters that had once covered them in her green bag; her blanket was buried in another bag, along with her Dark Faerie doll and her ragged Dire Lupe plushie.

Yes, Lily had everything she needed for a new life on the streets.

She glared in the general direction of the kitchen, where she could still hear Sandra eating. "Eat my dust, Sandra," she whispered, then glanced at the carpeted floor. "Er... eat my _carpet_ dust."

With difficulty, she picked up all four of her bags, then opened her window and climbed out onto the sill. Flexing her wings, she prepared to make her great escape.

"Geronimo!"

And Lily the skeith flew away.


	2. Yin and Yang

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The Very Hungry Skeith

(part two : Yin and Yang)

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by Emminou

Lily landed in a shady alley that snaked between Neopian Fresh Foods, Inc., and a large factory. The brick walls of the factory were covered in graffiti, much of it words that no young skeith should ever know. Oily puddles oozed across the concrete space between the two buildings. There was a strong stench of fish in the alley, which seemed to come from a dumpster leaning against the wall of the food shop. It was behind this dumpster Lily landed.

Unfortunately, it was also on top of an aisha. The cat-like creature hissed a few of the choicer words from the wall as he scrambled out from below Lily.

"Sorry," she mumbled, shame-faced. "S-s-s-sorry."

The aisha made no effort to reply; instead, he simply sat down on a small pile of newspapers and glared at Lily, his eyes narrow slits in his dirty ivory-coloured face.

Lily shivered. _Something_ about this aisha was frightening her. She shrugged at him, apologetically, and turned to go.

She was halfway down the alley when something hit her in the back. Lily whipped around, still nervous, but the white aisha was nowhere to be seen. Scooping her orange backpack out of the puddle she'd dropped it into, she continued on her way.

Seconds later, a rock smashed into her tail, hitting the bruise Sandra had made the day before. With a yelp of pain, Lily turned to face the place she'd last seen the aisha. There was nothing there. Cautiously, Lily took a few steps forwards.

And suddenly, the aisha _was_ there. He'd appeared out of thin air; or so it seemed to Lily, who blinked and rubbed her eyes. He took a few steps closer, and sat down. He seemed to be considering something.

"What do you want?" Lily knew she sounded like a spoilt skeithling, but she didn't care. This aisha was giving her the creeps. "I _said_ sorry."

"Oh, I know you did," the aisha purred.

"Then what do you want?"

The aisha hesitated before he answered. "To, ah, help you."

"Sure you do," Lily said sceptically.

Nodding earnestly, the aisha added, " I really think it would be best if you'd follow me. I'd be able to explain things so much better in more... _decent_ surroundings."

Lily took another look at the alleyway. The aisha was right; a place like this was not a good place to hang around for long. With a sigh, she nodded.

***

The aisha's name was Yang, he told Lily, as they made their way through the dirty backstreets of Neopia. He refused to tell her anything more, insisting he'd explain in the "decent" surroundings of home.

"And where's _home_?" Lily asked.

Yang paused before an abandoned shop. Lily stopped too, and stared through the filthy window. What she could see - and that wasn't much - was _not_ an encouraging sight. Two bookshelves were huddled together in the middle of the cramped space, surrounded by a mess of footsteps; a service counter, complete with a shop till, was pushed against one wall, and a poster, bleached almost colourless, hung from the other, advertising "The Space Station: A whole new galaxy of fun!" Beyond _that_, Lily could see nothing but darkness.

She jumped as the door creaked open. Yang slipped into the shop. Wondering what she'd let herself in for, Lily followed him.

"Yin?" the white aisha called.

There was a rustling noise, followed by the appearance of a lithe black shadow from within the bookcase. Yang rubbed himself against the shape, purring. She - _somehow_, Lily knew the black aisha was female - nipped him affectionately on the earstalk, before turning to Lily.

"What have we here, Yang?" Her voice was deep, a little husky.

Yang, still purring, sat down beside the shadow. "Yin, this is... I'm sorry- What did you say your name was?"

"Lily," she said, more than a little puzzled. _Why would they want to help me if they don't even know _who_ I am?_

"She's a skeith," Yang continued.

"I can see that," the black aisha replied, irritated. She stared at the skeith Yang had brought to their home: small, plump, a nondescript shade of blue. "I'm not sure about your so-called great idea, Yang."

"Sure about what?" Lily whispered.

The black aisha smiled broadly. "Never _you_ mind_. Say, _Lolly, dear, are you hungry?"

Lily didn't bother to correct Yin's pronunciation of her name. "Umm... yeah," she muttered. Her stomach rumbled in agreement.

Slitted eyes dancing, Yin turned to Yang. "Get us something to eat while I entertain our guest."

***

By the time Yang returned, carrying a pair of chicken wings, Lily was starting to feel quite uncomfortable. There was something in the way Yin talked; the way she smiled, too often and too wide. So Lily was very relieved when the door creaked open, announcing Yang's return.

"Nrrg... I found some chicken wings," he mumbled through a mouthful of meat. "Only _slightly_ rotten, too."

Yin leapt up from the story she'd been telling Lily. Crossing the room, she snatched a chicken wing from Yang's mouth. She sat down and began to eat ravenously.

Lily watched her, unsure of what to do next. The black aisha looked up and jerked her head at Lily. "Eat something, Laurel," she ordered, "Or aren't you hungry?"

Lily's stomach answered for her. Blushing, Lily scuttled across the room to take a piece of chicken from Yang. He had been right. The chicken was covered in flecks of green mould. Lily dropped it, disgusted.

Yin was still watching her. "Why, Lola, is there something wrong with your chicken?"

Determined not to embarrass herself even further in front of Yin, Lily shook her head. She picked up the piece of chicken and, ignoring the mouldy spots, ate what she could.


	3. The Soup Kitchen

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The Very Hungry Skeith

(part three: The Soup Kitchen)

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by Emminou

The small skeith had slept restlessly, troubled by odd dreams. Therefore, she wasn't as ungrateful as she made out when Yang woke her early the next morning.

"Gerroff," she mumbled, squeezing herself further under the service counter where she'd crawled the night before. It didn't work. Yang crawled under the counter, and said, very quietly, "Lily, if you're not out from here by the time I count to three, I will personally bite your tail off - and I think it's only fair to warn you, I'm a very fast counter!"

Fast at counting Yang may have been, but by the time he'd reached two-and-a-half, Lily was sitting sulkily by the door. "What did you want?" she snapped as he joined her.

"Lily, Lily, Lily," he said with exaggerated patience. "I told you, yesterday, we only want to help you."

"Help me do what, exactly?' Lily growled.

Yang chose to ignore her question. Instead, he pushed the door open and headed out into the street. Curious in spite of herself, Lily followed.

***

"Where are we going now?"

She watched the aisha prepare to reply. Before he could say anything, she added: "Don't fob me off again!"

Yang grinned delightedly. "You're not as dull as Yin thought you were! You actually realised-" he broke off, and a very sheepish look replaced his grin. "I, ah, shouldn't have said that."

Lily glared at him. "I told you, don't fob me off again! _Where are we going?_"

With a nervous look at Lily's sharp claws, Yang muttered, "Yin says we still don't know if you're trustworthy. I'm, ah, taking you for a - how do I put this? - test run."

"Trustworthy? She's a fine one to talk!" Lily snapped. "I wouldn't trust her as far as an _angelpuss_ could throw her!"

Yang, a few steps ahead, made a noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter. "If only you knew," Lily _thought_ she heard him say.

"So?"

"So, what?" the white aisha asked, turning to glance at her.

"_So_, where are you taking me?" Lily demanded.

"You know, I really admire your persist-" he stopped at Lily's warning growl, before continuing hastily with "Er, the Soup Kitchen, actually."

"Really?" Lily asked. She sounded so surprised that Yang stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, really. Why'd you ask?"

"'Cos we walked past it about five minutes ago!"

Under his breath, the white aisha mumbled a couple of words about the... dodginess of Lily's parentage. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"_You_ didn't tell _me_ we were going there!" Lily protested.

***

They back-tracked until they arrived at the Soup Kitchen. The cauldron-shaped building was filled with neopets and their owners. Lily had a quick look for Sandra; only when she was completely sure her owner - _ex-owner,_ she reminded herself - wasn't there did she relax enough to follow Yang inside.

For a moment, she thought she'd lost him. It certainly wouldn't have been hard. The Soup Kitchen was filled to overflowing with creatures of all shapes and sizes. Finally, she caught a glimpse of her companion, seated beside a skinny red usul.

Lily headed towards Yang, managing to trip over no less than three pets on her way. She sat down next to Yang, on the other side from the usul.

"What are we _doing_ here?" she hissed.

Yang jerked his head towards a serving counter; behind it, a slim woman with brown hair was slicing ham. She wore a long pink shirt over blue trousers. A red-and-white kerchief tied her long hair out of her face. She turned around, and Lily saw she had-

"Wings!" the young skeith gasped.

"Yep," Yang said. "She's a faerie."

Lily watched the faerie serving her customers. She had a brisk, cheerful manner that made Lily instinctively like her. The faerie dumped the sliced ham into a cauldron, one of six, on the bench behind her and gave it a stir. Then she reached under the counter and drew out a string of sausages.

Lily felt Yang tense beside her. "Lily!" he whispered. "Listen closely. This is _very_ important! While I create a distraction, I want you to take those sausages."

"What?" Lily yelped. "I'm not a-" Yang wrapped a paw around Lily's mouth.

"Just do it!" he hissed. Lily shook her head. The aisha twisted around until he was staring Lily in the face. "My dear child," he purred, "I thought you understood. Yin and I want to _help_ you - to be able to do this, we need your help. Refusal to help will result in our being unable to help you. So, will you help me?"

He took his paw away from Lily's mouth. Blankly, the skeith nodded.

"Right then." Yang leapt up, and began to push through the crowd towards the counter. Slowly, Lily followed him, her eyes fixed on the sausages. _There _are_ a lot of them, _she thought to herself. _Surely it wouldn't hurt to take a couple-_

Stop that! another part of her cried. _It's theft! Theft is wrong!_

But I'm so_ hungry..._

So are all the other pets who come here!

"Would you like something?" a voice asked. Lily looked up into the kind face of the Soup Faerie. Terrified, she could only stutter, "N-n-n-no, th-thanks."

The faerie smiled dreamily at her. "Are you sure, little one? You look like you could use some help."

Lily shook her head, wishing the faerie wasn't so very nice; it made what she had to do next so hard.


	4. Thief!

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The Very Hungry Skeith

(part four: Thief!)

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by Emminou

"Oi!" The angry shout tore the faerie's attention from Lily. She spun around to face her less-than-satisfied customer, a white aisha who winked at Lily, before continuing, "My asparagus and leek soup was off!"

For a second, the small skeith was too afraid to move, but then she remembered Yang's words - "_refusal to help will result in our being unable to help you._"

With a quick check to make sure that nobody was watching her, Lily reached a paw towards the sausages. She faltered for a second, but only for a second; she could feel Yang's eyes on her. Then she grabbed the string of sausages.

She twisted around, waiting for someone to yell thief.

But no one did. No one had seen her.

Lily felt like laughing and crying at the same time, the relief was so great. No one had seen her!_ No one! _She took a deep breath. Forcing herself to be calm, she inched out of the shop, past the crowd gathering around Yang.

The door slammed shut behind her. She stopped, heart pounding. _Any second now, _she thought, _somebody is going to look up and see me. Somebody is going to see the missing sausages. Somebody is going to make the connection._

The young skeith edged away from the shop. _Any second, now. Any second._ But seconds passed, and nothing happened. Her heartbeat slowed, and Lily began to relax.

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"STOP!"

Shaking, Lily looked back over her shoulder. Yang stood outside the Soup Kitchen, smirking at her.

"Did you think you'd leave without me?" he asked the terrified skeith. She shook her head, still too scared to speak. "Come on," Yang said, "let's go home."

***

Yang was, apparently, very proud of Lily. He told her so, numerous times, as they crossed Neopia Central. When they arrived home, Lily discovered Yin was, too.

"Well _done_, Lyra!" she cried. "I'm _exceedingly _proud of you."

Lily didn't know what 'exceedingly' meant, but she did understand one thing. Yin and Yang were proud of her because she'd stolen something. Now that the she wasn't so frightened, Lily wasn't so sure _she_ was proud of herself.

***

Lily was still brooding about the theft when dinnertime arrived. The two aishas bustled around, cooking the sausages on an almost certainly stolen gas cooker, but Lily sat a little further away, deep in thought.

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I stole the sausages. I_ stole them. _

I'm a thief.

"Have a sausage," Yang offered. "They're delicious!"

Lily took one of the sausages, but she didn't eat it.

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I stole this sausage. Worse, I stole it from the Soup Kitchen. Starving pets go there-

You were starving, too, part of her snapped. _Come on, admit it. It wasn't _that_ bad-_

"Libby? Libby?" The black aisha was staring at her, eyes full of concern which Lily was sure was fake. "You silly little thing, you were daydreaming. You've not eaten a bite of your sausage!"

"Oh... right," Lily mumbled. She took a tiny bite of the sausage and swallowed it without chewing.

With the two aishas' eyes on her, Lily finished the sausage. It tasted wrong, bitter somehow - something she'd once heard described as the taste of undeserved victory.

"Would you like another sausage, Lilac?"

__

Another one? Yeah, right. The blue skeith shook her head emphatically. "No, thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." She sat there for a moment longer, then added, "I think I'll go to bed."

***

From her bed under the counter, Lily could hear the two aishas discussing something. She wondered idly what they were talking about; although she could hear their voices, she couldn't make out what they were saying.

__

Probably talking about what a good thief I am, she thought, with a sigh.

***

She was half-asleep, and dreaming of giant asparagus spears when she heard it. For a few moments, the enormity of what the aishas had said didn't register. Then Lily's brain kicked itself into gear. _554323 Neopia Avenue... Big heist... Easy place, I've already cased the joint._

"554323 Neopia Avenue?" she mumbled to herself. "Is that what they said?"

Moments later, she banged her head on the counter. "554323 Neopia Avenue?!" she repeated. "That's _my_ house!!"


End file.
